Early Germanic peoples

The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first mentioned by Greco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is now Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania. From here they conducted raids into Roman territory, and large numbers of them joined the Roman military. These early Goths lived in the regions where archaeologists find the Chernyakhov culture, which flourished throughout this region during the 3rd and 4th centuries.

thumb|Germania Inferior roads and towns thumb|Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which was the most northerly province of the Roman Empire in continental Europe. The original Frankish language was West Germanic. These Frankish tribes lived for centuries under varying degrees of Roman hegemony and influence, but after the collapse of Roman institutions in western Europe, they took control of a large empire including areas that had be

thumb|upright=1.3|Detail of the votive crown of [[Recceswinth from the Treasure of Guarrazar (Toledo, Spain), hanging in Madrid. The hanging letters spell [R]ECCESVINTHVS REX OFFERET [King R. offers this].]]

The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to Germanic settlers who became one of the most important cultural groups in Britain by the 5th century. The Anglo-Saxon period in Britain is considered to have started by about 450 and ended in 1066, with the Norman Conquest. Although the details of their early settlement and political development are not clear, by the 8th century an Anglo-Saxon cultural ident

thumb|upright=1.25|Vandalic gold foil jewellery from the 3rd or 4th century thumb|150px|Vandal, painted by Lucas de Heere, 16th century.|alt=

thumb|upright=1.2|Lombard possessions in Italy: the Lombard Kingdom (Neustria (Lombard)|Neustria, Austria and Tuscia) and the Lombard Duchies of Spoleto and Benevento

The Ostrogoths (, ) were a Roman-era Germanic people who, in the 5th and 6th centuries, established one of the two major Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire. They drew on large Gothic populations settled in the Balkans since the 4th century and rose to prominence under Theodoric the Great, who in 493 founded the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy after defeating Odoacer.

The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian "stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany, between the lower Rhine and Elbe rivers. Many of their neighbours were, like them, speakers of West Germanic dialects, including both the Franks and Thuringians to the south, and the coastal Frisians and Angles to the north who were among the peoples who were originally referred to as "Saxons" in the context of early raiding and settlements in Roman Britain and Gaul. To their east were Obotri

thumb|upright=1.6|Area settled by the Alemanni, and sites of Roman–Alemannic battles, 3rd to 6th centuries

thumbnail|Kingdom of the Burgundians in around 500 The Burgundians ( or less commonly ) were a Germanic people of the Roman imperial era, who established the powerful Kingdom of the Burgundians within the Roman empire in what is now western Switzerland and south-eastern France. The kingdom ended when it was incorporated into the Frankish empire in 534. It is the source of later names related to the region now known as Burgundy, including medieval entities such as the Duchy of Burgundy. In earlier periods, Burgundians were also reported by Roman sources to have lived in regions now within Germa

North Sea Germanic people, from the eponymous area

thumb|500px|Approximate positions of some major Suebi peoples in the early 2nd century, in purple thumb|Osterby Man from northern Germany showing a [[Suebian knot, dated beween 75 and 130 AD]]

thumb|The Jutland Peninsula, possible homeland of the Jutes The Jutes ( ) were one of the Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the departure of the Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic nations, along with the Angles and the Saxons:

thumb|300px|Coin of the Gepids . Sirmium mint. In the name of Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I thumb|300px|Coin of the Gepids. Sirmium mint. Struck in the name of [[Justin I, CE. Obv: D N IVSTINVS P LV (first N retrograde), pearl-diademed and cuirassed bust right. Rev: VINVICTL ROMLNI, large "Theodericus" monogram across fields, cross above]] The Gepids (; ) were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary, and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava, and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the religion and language of the Goths and Vandals.

thumb|Germania in the late 1st century AD; the Cimbri in northern Jutland. The Cimbri (, ; ) were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic-Gaulish, Germanic, or even Cimmerian people. Several ancient sources indicate that they lived in Jutland, which in some classical texts was called the Cimbrian peninsula. There is no direct evidence for the language they spoke, though some scholars argue that it was a Germanic language, while others argue that it was Celtic.

thumb|upright=1.35|Approximate location of pre-Roman Belgic Gaul shortly before Roman conquest, according to an interpretation of Caesar 300px|thumb|Map of northeastern Gaul around 70 AD The Belgae ( , ) were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth by Julius Caesar in his account of his wars in Gaul. Some peoples in southern Britain were also called Belgae and had apparently moved from the continent. T. F. O'Rahilly

thumb|upright 1.2|Map of the Roman Empire and contemporary indigenous [[Europe in AD 125, showing a proposed location of Heruli on the Danish islands.]] The Heruli (also Eruli, Herules, Herulians) were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity, known from records in the third to sixth centuries AD. The best recorded group of Heruli established a kingdom north of the Middle Danube, probably including the area north of present day Vienna. This kingdom was a neighbour to several other small and short-lived kingdoms in the late 5th century and early 6th century, including those of the

thumb|400px|Approximate positions of some major Suebi peoples in the early 2nd century, in purple The Marcomanni were a Germanic people who lived close to the border of the Roman Empire, north of the River Danube, and are mentioned in Roman records from approximately 60 BC until about 400 AD. They were one of the most important members of the powerful cluster of allied Suebian peoples in this region, which also included the Hermunduri, Varisti, and Quadi along the Danube, and the Semnones and Langobardi to their north.

thumb|right|400px|The Roman Empire under [[Hadrian (r.117–138), showing the former location of the Cherusci in northwestern Germany]] The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the plains and forests of northwestern Germania in the area of the Weser River and present-day Hanover during the first centuries BCE and CE. Roman sources reported they considered themselves kin with other Irmino tribes and claimed common descent from an ancestor called Mannus.

ancient Germanic tribe

thumb|right|370px|Approximate settlement area of the Quadi people in the late Roman era (3rd-4th centuries)

thumb|450px|The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in 9 BC.

4th & 5th century Franks in today's Netherlands and Belgium

thumb|upright=1|Reconstruction of the grave of the Kemathen warrior, who is believed to have been a Bavarian The Baiuvarii, Baiovari or early Bavarians were a Germanic people who are first mentioned in contemporary records starting in the 6th century, soon after the end of the Western Roman Empire. They originally lived in what had been the Roman province Raetia, south of the Danube, in what is now southern Bavaria. They became a stem duchy within the Frankish empire, the medieval Duchy of Bavaria, which expanded and eventually stretched to include present day Austria.

thumb|Fibula (brooch)|Fibula found in [[Mühlhausen, 4th/5th century AD]] thumb|Ancient Germanic bone comb, Thuringia The Thuringi, or Thuringians were a Germanic people who lived in their own kingdom in what is now Central Germany. They are first mentioned in written records starting in the fifth century, during a period when the Huns were the most influential force in Central Europe and the Western Roman Empire lost control of this region. The kingdom was not mentioned during the reign of Attila (reigned 434–453), or during the conflicts between the small kingdoms which formed immediately aft

early medieval Rhineland Franks

right|thumb|220px|Geatish settlements during the 6th century, within the red lines. The green areas show the main areas of North Germanic settlement in Scandinavia. The Geats ( ), sometimes called Goths, were a large North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the Late Middle Ages. They are one of the progenitor groups of modern Swedes, along with the tribes of Swedes and Gutes. The name of the Geats also lives on in the Swedish provinces of and , the western and eastern lands of the Geats, and in many other toponyms.

thumb|upright=1|Effigy of Odoacer, who is thought to be of Scirian descent The Sciri, or Scirians, were a Germanic people, who were first mentioned in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on the city of Olbia near modern-day Odesa. Along with the Bastarnae, who are much more frequently mentioned, they are among the earliest, and most easterly, of the Germanic peoples mentioned by Greek or Roman authors.

thumb|A 19th century statue of Ambiorix, prince of the Eburones (1st century BC), in [[Tongeren, Belgium]]

North Germanic tribe

North Germanic tribe, one of the three tribes that founded Sweden

400 px|thumb|The approximate locations of the Sicambri and Bructeri in about 10 BC 400 px|thumb|Approximate positions of tribes in about 100 AD The Bructeri were a Germanic people, who lived in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, just outside what was then the Roman Empire. The Romans originally reported them living east of the lower Rhine river, in a large area centred around present day Münster stretching from both sides of the upper River Ems in the north, to both sides of the River Lippe in the south. At its greatest extent, their territory apparently stretched between the vicinities of th

thumb|right|400px|Map showing Roman Dacia and surrounding peoples in 125 AD The Bastarnae, Bastarni or Basternae, also known as the Peuci or Peucini, were an ancient people who are known from Greek and Roman records to have inhabited areas north and east of the Carpathian Mountains between about 300 BC and about 300 AD, stretching in an arc from the sources of the Vistula in present-day Poland and Slovakia, to the Lower Danube, and including all or most of present-day Moldava. The Peucini were sometimes described as a subtribe, who settled the Peuke Island in the Danube Delta, but apparently d

thumb|300px|right|Depiction of Magna Germania in the early 2nd century, including the location of the Silingi The Silings or Silingi (; – ) were a Germanic tribe, part of the larger Vandal group. The Silingi at one point lived in Silesia, and the names Silesia and Silingi may be related.

thumb|300px|A map of Belgic Gaul in the first century BC, showing the relative position of the Nervii

frame|right|Modern reconstruction of Treveran dwellings at Altburg, Germany. The Treveri (Gaulish: *Trēueroi) were a Celtic–Germanic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle in modern day Germany from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fringes of the Silva Arduenna (Ardennes Forest), a part of the vast Silva Carbonaria, in what are now Luxembourg, southeastern Belgium and western Germany; its centre was the city of Augusta Treverorum (Trier), to which the Treveri give their name. Although r

thumb|right|300px|Places and peoples associated with Rugii-like names in different historical periods, including Rogaland, [[Rugiland (5th century); Rügen]]

frameless|240px|right The Chauci were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Rivers Ems and Elbe, on both sides of the Weser and ranging as far inland as the upper Weser. Along the coast they lived on artificial mounds called terpen, built high enough to remain dry during the highest tide. A dense population of Chauci lived further inland, and they are presumed to have lived in a manner similar to the lives of the other Germanic peoples of the region.

The Tencteri were a Germanic people during the first centuries BC and AD, who lived east of the Rhine delta. They were first reported by Roman sources during the Gallic Wars of Julius Caesar in 55 BC. He attacked a very large group of Tencteri and Usipetes near the Rhine delta, while they were on the move with women, children and the elderly, having left their homelands east of the delta under pressure from the Suebi. Caesar reported that large numbers were killed, but survivors managed to cross the Rhine and seek refuge with the Sugambri.

400px|thumb|The approximate locations of the Sicambri and Bructeri in about 10 BC The Sicambri or Sugambri were a Germanic people who lived in the area between the Rhine, Lippe, and Wupper rivers, in what is now Germany, near the border with the Netherlands. They were first reported by Julius Caesar, who encountered them in 55 BC. They became a significant opponent of Roman imperial power in the Rhine region. After a major defeat by the Romans in 8 BC many of the Sicambri were moved into Roman territory.

former ethnic group which inhabited the Crimean peninsula

thumb|The migrations of the Teutons and the Cimbri. Cimbri, Ambrone and Teuton defeats. Cimbri, Ambrone and Teuton victories. The Ambrones () were an ancient tribe mentioned by Roman authors. They are believed by some to have been a Germanic tribe from Jutland; the Romans were not clear about their exact origin.

The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi (sometimes pluralised Tervings or Thervings) were a Gothic people of the plains north of the Lower Danube and west of the Dniester River in the 3rd and the 4th centuries.

The Hasdingi, Asdingi or Hastingi were a group categorized as Vandals during the Roman era. The name referred to both a specific ruling dynasty or clan, and also sometimes to the population they led.

400 px|thumb|The approximate locations of the Sicambri and Bructeri in about 10 BC 400 px|thumb|Approximate positions of tribes in about 100 AD thumb|right|A view of the country around Minden, part of ancient Engern The Angrivarii (or Angrivari) were a Germanic people of the early Roman Empire, who lived in what is now northwest Germany near the middle of the Weser river. They were mentioned by the Roman authors Tacitus and Ptolemy.

thumb|400px|Approximate positions of some major Suebi peoples in the early 2nd century, in purple

400 px|thumb|The approximate locations of the Sicambri and Bructeri in about 10 BC 400 px|thumb|Approximate positions of tribes in about 100 AD The Chamavi were a Germanic people of Roman imperial times who lived north of the Roman border () in the Rhine river delta region, in what is now the Netherlands, and perhaps stretching into what is now Germany.

thumb|300px|The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors, Suevian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple The Irminones, also referred to as Herminones or Hermiones (), were a large group of early Germanic tribes settling in the Elbe watershed and by the first century AD expanding into Bavaria, Swabia, and Bohemia. This included the large sub-group of the Suevi, that itself contained many different tribal groups, but the Irminones also included for example the Chatti.

400 px|thumb|The approximate locations of the Sicambri and Bructeri in about 10 BC The Usipetes or Usipii (in Plutarch's Greek, Ousipai, and possibly the same as the Ouispoi of Ptolemy) were an ancient Germanic people who entered the written record when they encountered Julius Caesar in 56/55 BC when they attempted to find a new settlement west of the Rhine, together with the Tencteri, who were both attempting to move away from the aggressions of the Suevi on the east side of the Rhine. After the Romans slaughtered a great number of both tribes, they resettled on the east bank with the help of

thumb|right|350px|The Ubii around AD 30 thumb|right|200px|Fannius, a member of the Ubii, corporis custos, the Germanic bodyguard of [[Nero, Museo Epigrafico, Terme di Diocleziano, Rome]]

thumb|350px|The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suevian peoples in red, and other [[Irminones in purple.]] The Varini, Warni or Warini were one or more Germanic peoples who originally lived in what is now northeastern Germany, near the Baltic Sea.

thumb|500px|Approximate positions of some major Suebi peoples in the early 2nd century, in purple

thumb|300px|The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the first century. thumb|right|Lower Ems The Ampsivarii, sometimes referenced by modern writers as Ampsivari (a simplification not warranted by the sources), were a Germanic tribe mentioned by ancient authors.

The Ingaevones () or Ingvaeones () were a Germanic cultural group living in the Northern Germania along the North Sea coast in the areas of Jutland, Holstein, and Lower Saxony in classical antiquity. Tribes in this area included the Angles, Chauci, Saxons, and Jutes.

300px|thumb|A map of eastern Gaul showing the Nemetes at the right along the Rhine. The Nemetes or Nemeti were a tribe settled along the Upper Rhine by Ariovistus in the 1st century BC.

The Morini (Gaulish: 'sea folk, sailors') were a Belgic coastal tribe dwelling in the modern Pas de Calais region, around present-day Boulogne-sur-Mer, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

germanic population

right|thumb|200px|The dragon-and-pearl device of the shields of the Equites Honoriani Taifali iuniores unit based in Gaul. The dragon was blue, as was the "pearl". The boss was blue and the band around the boss was red. The field was white.

The Lugii (or Lugi, Lygii, Ligii, Lugiones, Lygians, Ligians, Lugians, or Lougoi) were a group of tribes mentioned by Roman authors living in ca. 100 BC–300 AD in Central Europe, north of the Sudetes mountains in the basin of upper Oder and Vistula rivers, covering most of modern southern and middle Poland (regions of Silesia, Greater Poland, Mazovia and Lesser Poland).

thumb|right|300px|A proposed distribution of the primary [[Germanic languages|Germanic dialect groups in Europe in around AD 1. The depiction of Jutland as a West Germanic area is typical within German scientific tradition.